A Shade of Vampire 84 A Memory of Time - Bella Forrest Page 0,43
method of keeping them under control. Drezel didn’t seem happy to see them.
“You have got to be kidding me,” he muttered and slapped a hand against the wall. Energy rippled outward, causing the bricks to tremble as dust fell off.
The ghouls had come to help Maya. They jumped Drezel, and he was finally outnumbered. Maya shook Sidyan with considerable force in a bid to wake him up, but it wasn’t Maya who got the Reaper’s eyes wide open again—it was the squealing of the old iron door as it was pushed open.
Drezel was no longer alone, and we were in deep trouble. The energy ripple I’d seen… it must’ve served as a signal to call the others. Perhaps he’d not expected such a quick reaction, as Danika walked in, wearing metal prosthetic hands while she waited for her own to grow back. The scythe had been fitted in one of them, its blade shining with thirst for blood and life. She raised it defiantly, giving me a sideways glance and confident smirk as she cast a spell against the Knight Ghouls.
They all fell to their knees, crying and growling in agony as Danika whispered an incantation, further amplifying their suffering. “You don’t walk away from the Darklings you were born to serve,” she said, and brought her scythe down. The motion forced the creatures against the hard floor with some kind of telekinetic power. They couldn’t move, and Lumi was on her own again.
Things didn’t look good.
A click caught my attention, and I saw Sidyan in front of my lock again, the cell door sliding open as Maya helped him up. He’d done it. I was free. Without hesitation, I stepped out just as Danika let a curse slip.
“I was going to keep you alive, Derek, but you’re more nuisance than pet at this point,” she added, pointing her weapon at me. Lumi attacked Drezel again, while the ghouls were continuously tormented by Danika’s spell. I had no intention of letting her win this one. I had a wife to get back to. A daughter. Our friends. They were all counting on my return, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to die in this festering nest of evil.
“Frankly, Danika, I’ve had enough of your crap,” I replied, my fangs and claws extending. There was no death magic on my side, but I had my will and my experience to back me up. Maybe it didn’t mean much to her, but who I was had always been my salvation, and I had to trust it would get me out of trouble this time around, too.
I bolted forward before she could react. Danika brought her scythe up as a means of defense, but she wasn’t fast enough. I struck with my left hand first, the claws slashing at her stomach. Blood sprayed out, and she gasped, jumping back as I went in for a second hit. She quickly caught up, raising her blade whenever I lashed out, but she didn’t have time to use her death magic on me as long as I kept her busy with physical combat. If there was one thing Danika had never learned about me, it was my speed.
After everything I’d survived, I’d learned that quickness could keep me alive. This wasn’t my first time fighting for my life, and it showed. Danika met my blows with a certain grace, but it wasn’t enough. Suddenly, she stilled and cried out in pain. I looked down to see that Maya had sunk her fangs deep into her leg. Blood poured from the wound as Danika reared back to strike the ghoul. I knew one blow from her scythe would potentially kill Maya.
I cut her across the chest, drawing more blood. Danika fell back, hitting the wall. She brought an arm over her torso, the metal hand clanking as its mechanical fingers moved. Drezel’s head rolled by her, and she gasped. “No…”
Lumi darted to my side and pulled me away. Instinctively, I grabbed Maya.
“Come on!” Sidyan shouted.
“I’m not done with you, maggots!” Danika snapped, her scythe illuminated white as she cast more death magic at us. I didn’t even want to know what this particular spell entailed. Judging by the pure hatred that glowed in her eyes, it was a nasty one.
A bright blue orb of condensed energy formed between us and Danika, swelling menacingly as she raised her voice during the incantation.
“Oh crap,” Sidyan managed as he leaned back against the cell bars.